SLA operation in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 July 1999, 12:13 GMT]Fighting broke out in the Thaandiyadi area yesterday evening when the Sri Lankan army conducted a limited operation from the Valaiyiravu Bridge, west of Batticaloa, towards Paduvaankarai; the western hinterland of the district said sources.

The SLA troops met with LTTE mortar fire at Thaandiyadi, 5 km. south of Valaiyiravu Bridge, and then withdrew back to their camps, the sources said.

The SLA maintains a detachment along the lagoon at the Valaiyiravu Bridge, one of the entry points into the Paduvaankarai region.

Meanwhile SLA sources said that troops conducted a limited operation in the Thaandiyadi area after observing LTTE cadres there.

Two Tigers were seriously wounded in the operation and the army did not suffer any casualties, the SLA sources said.